Venezuela’s dictator Nicolás Maduro announced that his country would cut all diplomatic ties with the United States following the swearing in of Interim President Juan Guaidó to restore the constitutional order. President Donald Trump recognized Guaidó, and not Maduro, as the legitimate president of Venezuela on Wednesday.

Guaidó is the head of the country’s National Assembly, the federal legislative body and the only branch of government elected freely and fairly by the Venezuelan people. Guaidó organized nationwide protests Wednesday, the anniversary of the establishment of democracy in 1958, that attracted thousands of protesters in the country’s biggest cities.

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Maduro spoke several hours after Guaidó took a public oath of office in Caracas, declaring himself the president of the country with the support of a broad coalition of opposition groups. He refused to name Guaidó in his remarks, referring to him only as “some nobody,” instead directing his ire towards the United States.

Speaking before a crowd at a government-organized rally in front of the presidential palace, Miraflores, Maduro announced that all U.S. diplomatic personnel had 72 hours to leave the country.

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“I have decided to cut all diplomatic ties with the imperialist government of the United States,” he announced. “Get out of Venezuela, enough is enough! There is dignity here, damn it!”

“The imperialist government of the United States is directing an operation to impose a puppet government via coup d’etat to back its interests in Venezuela. They want to choose the president of Venezuela through unconstitutional means,” he argued. “Who elects the president of Venezuela? Can some nobody self-inaugurate himself as president?”

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Maduro personally accused Vice President Mike Pence of “issuing an order through Twitter yesterday” for Guaidó to take power, apparently referring to a video Pence uploaded with a message to the Venezuelan people: that Washington would support their efforts to end socialist tyranny...